“It was a wonderful experience.”
These would be the most common words when you are going to read our articles
about the Interpersonal and Team Building for our Field Trips and Seminars. And
it is really wonderful; re-identifying yourself and letting others know you
then all the while having fun. The lessons that were told were refreshing and
very much welcome since us as Computer Science and Information Technology
students as we are bombarded with academic knowledge from day in to day out. This
knowledge although vital to our concern would not be useful if we are not whole
as a person. As I remember the proverb “All work and no play makes Jack a dull
boy” (1659, Howell) means that when a person forgets his leisure time due to
overtime at work he becomes bored and also himself boring. We do not want to be
boring right? That alone is a big reason that we take our leisure time
seriously. And who also does want to be bored, not unless we are that tired and
lazy; we as humans must move. And that Interpersonal and Team Building Activity
have influenced us to become more human.
The day started for me as normal
as it was supposed to be, and I expected another boring day just sitting and
listening while trying very hard not to fall asleep. My view of a seminar was
something like a good talk amongst the participants but that changed when I met
people who were somehow impatient about such long talks. Even I myself am
sometimes intolerant with such very long and mostly boring events. My idea of a
calm, collected, but otherwise enthusiastic crowd was tarnished due to these unprecedented
things. Knowing batch mates to be rowdy my fear of a n unmanageable crowd was
building up. But I was amazed at how my view of a crowd was changed. Our
lecturer from the University Guidance and Testing Office was very accommodating
and patient at us even at our untimely antics she was still smiling, composed,
and in control of the crowd. I was a bit worried at first that everything would
blow up into chaos because I knew my classmates to be quite unruly at times. I
have known them for four straight years, I have served as the class mayor of
our batch for almost 3 years and my temper has been tested a thousand times
because of their uncontrollable characters; that has left a fear in my heart
that some time during this event our batch would somehow be “blacklisted” due
to being such wildlings. Yes I admit that we are wild, and that’s what sets us
apart from the others and we are fun. We enjoy such happy-go-lucky thoughts
with our so-called secondary family of “angkols” and “antes”. The event proceeded
just fine and I have observed my classmates have somehow matured enough and
they welcomed the thought of a close encounter with themselves and others.
And so the Interpersonal and
Team Building seminar started, energy was starting to rise to the roof and the
kick-off was a blast. But start was somewhat mellowed by the tempo of our speaker.
The technique was effective since it calmed the adrenaline junkies inside our
group. Yet the happy, lively, and enthusiastic vibe of the people was not going
to go down with that. Majority of all those who were asked to answer the
questions were answering with wit and overcoming their fear of answering a
speakers’ question. Yes you read it right, even though some of us may be as
hyper as a steaming engine; most of us have the fear of speaking in public also
known as glossophobia or the fear of the crowd known as agoraphobia. These
fears are within us although not that much manifests that’s why it goes unnoticed.
I have observed in the Field Trips and Seminars Interpersonal Skills and Team
Building that many of us overcame those fears. Public Speaking? No problem.
Another part of our lives as
Computer Scientists and Information Technologists that needs very much improvement
is our sense of self. Yes we have that; just like how we were pictured as nerds
that have very introverted thoughts. Some of us as I have observed really has
the skill and drive to learn but hindered by their timidity. Either some are
too shy to ask or some are too reserved to their own thoughts. A low sense of
self reflects to the outside world when someone does not immerse himself with
others. That is why we must know and believe in ourselves so that others will
also know and believe in us. We must always remember that there is more suspicion
in hidden agendas. Imagine a classroom or a workplace that has little to no
interaction even with the correlated workloads the employees have. This work
environment would be hell even if the air-conditioning unit reaches below zero.
Why? You would work on a supposedly shared task seemingly alone even if your
workmate is just a footstep away if both of you does not have the necessary
interpersonal skill needed for just a plain business talk. A shared task should
always be shared; it would not be named otherwise if it can be done by some
super human. Its ease and especially its burdens should be well distributed. In
this fashion when the project becomes successful all team members would have a
taste of how it is to overcome a task through effective communication and
distribution of work. This alone is not the sole application of interpersonal skills;
it can also help with everybody’s social life. Most people engaged in the field
of Information Communications Technology are dubbed as nerds, well things have
changed. Information Communications Technology people are now called geeks, now
defined by Webster’s Dictionary (2014) as a usually intelligent person who does
not fit in with other people, while nerd is defined as a person who behaves
awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, et cetera.
Thus the stereotype of Information Communications Technology people being nerdy
is improved to being geeky, and is now the new sexy as what the trend says.
This improvement is kind of positive and should be fostered. I am personally
convinced that this interpersonal skills training would help us budding
technologists and scientists to be outspoken and learn to express ourselves in
words and in actions. We should take into consideration that one person who can
talk confidently to another may affect the other to talk also.
In the Field Trips and Seminars
Interpersonal Skills and Team Building I have also met other peers; aside from
my classmates. I have had the chance of seeing my batch mates, although not
merely knowing them but being acquainted with them is a happy thought for me.
Yes, it is a very big deal for me to just see those faces and be familiar with
them. It is very noticeably refreshing to know someone new right? And that
feeling was there right after the event. It manifested much more during the
ending prayer where our speaker made us hold a lighted candle while reciting
our prayers and our promises to the Lord that we will become better people, with
which we will be improving ourselves to become better individuals. Haven’t you
asked why interpersonal skills and team building was combined into one activity?
This is the answer. Through this we will become better team members when we do
our thing as programmers, web developers, graphic artists, systems
administrators, et cetera. A team is very vital in our line of work as a single
person’s skill set may not be enough to complete an assignment on or before a
given deadline. That is why this team building and interpersonal skills
training and seminar were established. The value of ones self is as important
as the team as a whole. Since we cannot create a team without the single most
important entity; the human. We cannot even call a team a “team” when it is not
functioning as a single organism. Just like how many companies have crumbled to
the ground due to the negligence of some; this starts from the atomic level of
the entire organization. It is not true that one man can do no harm, because
one man can be all that will make the difference between making it to the top
or breaking the dream.
Lastly, I have reflected in myself
that I have been way into myself that I have been rejecting others opinions. I
have observed this when reality has come into my senses about me being so into
my own opinion and I have had been rejecting the voices of many, when in fact
crowd sourcing is the one of the rising stages in which Information
Technologists, Computer Scientists, Engineers, and even Entrepreneurs are
making their way into worldwide recognition and even making a living. Just
recently I have discovered that many of the products that are gaining
popularity today are coming from individuals who submit their works for
scrutiny of the public eye, thus making their products known while still being
in its developmental stages. It is very very wonderful to witness the growth of
such innovations unfold. This has given me the idea that I as a person should
not rely solely on myself, instead I should seek advices and even help to those
people I trust. Studies also show that knowledge of the crown is far more
accurate than just plain chance. With these ideas in my mind, I have come to my
senses that it really is effective to work as a team. As the saying goes “No
one solely owns all the problems in the world” that is why we must share every
thought we have, let others help us in our ways so we may be better. And who
are we to reject free help right? When in fact we must ask for help for we most
of the time needs one. We just need to admit to ourselves that we have
weaknesses. Yes we do have strengths but we must also recognize our failures,
because failure to recognize where we lack is just the same as negligence
itself. The only difference is we chose to neglect and be neglect rather than
trying to anticipate what we must improve on. It is indeed true at times that
we choose to neglect without noticing it. In order for this to be avoided we
must be vigilant in our ways; be more open in what others may say but limiting
only to what is workable. Because others may exploit our yearning for advices
to scold us or much worse to degrade us; this is not a healthy thought.
Although others may think that what they’re saying may be used as motivation
yet it serves more as a tool for mocking us. Yes we do need advices and
opinions from others but we must guard ourselves against criticisms. Some
critics give constructive criticisms but most are just biased on their own
opinions. Yet we must not worry too much because as what the Bible says in
Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. I myself have worries,
that is why I have relied solely on my opinion and observations, but these
realizations lately made me re-think my ways and letting others into my world.
I just always remind myself to weigh things, every ounce and pound of it so
that I may choose the most feasible thing. But then again there is no certainty
in this world unless it has happened; we must just choose the things that result
in consequences that we can handle and may also serve the good for many. I do
hope you who read this article have learned something from my reflection of the
Field Trips and Seminars Interpersonal and Team Building Activity.
“JamHowell
Quotes and Quotations” Famous Quotes and Authors.com Archived from the original
on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
Angkol
– commonly uttered term in Cebuano that literally means Uncle.
Ante
– Cebuano term for aunt.
